The Prototype Vulcan
by TKcloud9
Summary: A once in an almost-billion phenomena brings aboard a startling remnant from Vulcan's past: a real live disciple of Surak before the world of Vulcan had accepted logic. And she *smiles*. How will this new Vulcan adjust to the world she vanished from 6 thousand years ago?
1. Chapter 1

Star Trek

The Prototype Vulcan

Ion storms were always annoying, to say the least. They were visually stunning, but they were annoying. Power was flickering on and off throughout the ship, weapons systems were malfunctioning, and half the new ensigns were space-sick. On some days, too, the only one that wasn't space-sick was Spock. Unless his natural green skin tone was covering it up...did Vulcans /get/ space sick?

Kirk looked away from his science officer with a smirk and focused on the PADD in his hands. It was the weapons systems updates. A second later, Spock's voice made him look up again.

"Captain," the Vulcan said, "internal sensors are reading a power surge in Transporter Room 2."

The comm clicked on. "Transporter Room 2 to bridge. Kyle here. Captain, I'm reading a /biosign/ in the transporter's pattern buffer. It just appeared."

"How is that possible?" Kirk demanded. "Was someone using the transporter?"

"No sir," Kyle assured him. A few beeps and alarms filtered through the comm and his next few words were panicked. "Captain, I'm losing it."

Kirk made a split-second decision and came to the correct one. "Energize, Mr. Kyle," he said crisply. He pushed another button on his arm chair. "Security to Transporter Room 2. Spock, you're with me. Lt Uhura, tell Bones to meet us in the transporter room."

The 3 of them reached the transporter at the same time as security. They went in, redshirts first, and found Mr. Kyle attempting to placate a Vulcan woman.

The woman saw them, saw the guards with phasers drawn, and instinctively leaped for Kyle, using him as a shield, a thin blade appearing at his throat. She spoke to them in some sort of dialect the universal translator didn't quite get, the emotions of fear and surprise showing plainly on her face. Okay. Emotional, violent, not translating. Not Vulcan, Kirk told himself. A Romulan?

Kirk looked at Spock and raised on eyebrow. The Vulcan mirrored the movement. Kirk stepped forward, gesturing the security officers to put their phasers down. "My name is James T. Kirk," he said. You're on the Federation starship Enterprise. We mean you no harm."

She spoke again in her strange dialect, directing her remarks to Spock.

"It's an ancient Vulcan dialect, captain," Spock said, "native to the Shi'Kahr area. It hasn't been spoken since Global Unification."

"That's fascinating," Kirk said. "Can you get her to calm down?"

Spock stepped forward a bit and said in Vulcan, "We mean you no harm. Release the man and give us your identity."

She stared at him and replied suspiciously, "You know these aliens?"

"Yes. They are my companions." Spock held up a hand in the traditional salute of Vulcan. "I am Spock. Live long and prosper."

She suddenly released Kyle and the knife clattered to the floor. She stared at Spock for a few seconds as if in a daze, and then returned the salute. "Peace and long life," she intoned, but the way she said it made it sound almost is if she were repeating a vow. She put down her hand. "My name is S'alea of Shi'Kahr, disciple of Surak. Forgive my lack of 'cthia." She gave them a slight smile. "It is not every day a being is magically transported to another place."

If Spock were human, his eyes would have fallen out of his head and his jaw would be scraping the ground. As it was, his eyebrow was nearly hitting his hairline. "Fascinating," was all he was able to say.

Kirk and McCoy exchanged a glance. Spock speechless? What was going on? "Spock, what's she saying?" Kirk asked urgently.

Spock focused his attention on the captain. "I believe she has been transported from the past, captain. She claims to be a disciple of Surak. No one has had any need to identify themselves as such since before the unification."

"But, but," McCoy spluttered, unable to accept it, "she /smiled/."

"I believe she is from the Pre-Reformation period," Spock said, "before the entire world accepted Surak's teaching. If this is so, none of Surak's disciples would have perfect control over their emotions." He looked at S'alea and asked her in Vulcan, "What year is it?" She gave him a brief reply, raising an eyebrow. Spock nodded. "2 years, to be precise," he told the captain.

"That's," Kirk said, shaking his head, "wow." He had to take a deep breath before he said, "Well, it seems like we're going to have a guest. Spock, can you explain the situation to her? And have Linguistics get her a universal translator."

"And I want to give her a physical," McCoy added. "See if she's okay after she's been scrambled halfway across the quadrant."

Spock told S'alea what they'd said and she nodded. "Come with me," he told her.

"Your quarters, Spock?" Kirk asked.

"That is the logical place," Spock said. "The environment will provide stability."

The two Vulcans left and Kirk went to the bridge to try and figure out what had happened, and McCoy went to sickbay to prep for his new Vulcan patient.

When they entered Spock's neat, intrinsically Vulcan quarters, Spock sensed S'alea's level of tension drop by 13.2%. /This/, at least, was something she recognized. She stopped at the sword on his wall and stared. "A S'harien?" she said, in awe.

"Yes."

"You must be wealthy indeed to own such a treasure," S'alea said, unable to stop staring at the fine steel craftsmanship.

Here was the opportunity he need. "It is a family heirloom," Spock said. "My family has had it for generations."

"How-" she turned to face him and raised a delicate eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"I am Spock, son of Sarek, of the House of — a slight beat — Surak."

S'alea looked at him, the struggle for control evident in her eyes. She managed to quash it and nodded. "Please explain."

This was going to take some time. Spock gestured for her to take a seat at the desk and offered her a glass of water in the traditional way.

"Thank you," she said, receiving the glass with a nod. She took a small sip and looked at him expectantly.

Spock sat down across from her and stared to explain everything. Where she was, /when/ she was, who they were, and what had happened on Vulcan since she had been... misplaced. As for why and how, he had no answers yet.

When he finally finished, she was staring at him, her brow furrowed as she carefully absorbed the information. "That's amazing," she said. "So. You are Surak's descendent. You look like him."

Spock took this comment with a raised eyebrow. "I am honored," he said, trying to get rid of the tiny flash of pleasure this announcement brought him.

She shook her head. "I am thankful we have overcome our fear of the Other enough to take a place in this, Federation of Planets." She grinned ruefully. "After the bombing of the I'shka conclave, we were wondering if any Vulcan would survive the decade. S'task is thinking— was thinking..." she broke off at the look in Spock's eyes. "What happened to him? Did his proposal go through? They left?"

Spock felt like sighing. "The Romulans."

"The who?"

He began to explain, and after he'd given her a brief summary of their history and their dealings with the Federation, S'alea looked shocked. "They have truly lost themselves," she said, staring through the walls as if she could see faraway planet and all its troubles.

When Spock finally appeared in Sickbay with S'alea in tow, McCoy greeted them with a characteristic remark. "You look shell-shocked. What's Spock been telling you?"

"I explained the fate of the Romulans," Spock said simply.

McCoy nodded. "Romulans. Enough to ruin anybody's day." He patted the biobed and as soon as she sat down he started scanning her, a strange look on his face. "Radiation poisoning?" he muttered, as the results filtered across the tricorder.

"It is difficult to find someone who does not have radiation poisoning," S'alea said.

"This was, of course, before the ion cleansing of the atmosphere," Spock put in, to keep McCoy from giving /him/ a physical.

"Uh-huh." McCoy prepped a hypo and gave her a shot. "This'll get rid of it. Just stay out of laser tanks."

"Thank you doctor." S'alea stood up and looked at Spock.

He nodded fractionally. The next logical step was to give her a chance to rest and meditate. "This way," he said.

He led her towards guest quarters on the ship, turning it into a mini-tour on the way.

"This vessel is quite extensive," she commented.

"Indeed. There are 430 crew. It is the Fleet's first ship of this class."

S'alea nodded. "And are there other Vulcans?"

"Not on this ship," Spock said, deciding to wait till later to explain about the Intrepid.

She gave him a raised eyebrow. "One would think that living among such, undisciplined, minds would be difficult in solitude." A polite way of asking 'why in the worlds?'

"I am half-human," Spock told her, interested to see her reaction.

All he got was surprise, and then, to /his/ surprise, admiration. "A remarkable achievement for our people," she said. "Your mother?"

"Is on Vulcan, with my father," he said, wondering why he was giving her these personal details.

She nodded. "Surak would be pleased, indeed, to know that his own family has progressed this far."

Spock didn't know exactly what to make of that, so he keyed the doors open to her quarters and said, "I hope these will be satisfactory."

She looked around the work area, the small bedroom, and nodded. "They are."

"You can adjust environmental controls to your specifications using the computer," Spock said, nodding to the computer. "If you need any assistance you may contact myself or Dr. McCoy."

She nodded. Then, "thank you."

/That/ surprised him. "I am merely performing a courtesy to a guest," he said.

She nodded. "I know. But thank you anyways."

He returned the nod, his human, more emotional half of him understanding her. "You are welcome." He turned away and heard the doors slide shut behind him.

Spock returned to the bridge and and as soon as he came in everyone looked at him expectantly. "Well?" Kirk asked.

"Captain?" Spock said, returning his gaze calmly.

"How's our newest Vulcan?"

"She is taking the situation with admirable calm."

"Yeah." Kirk paused a second and then said, "She's kind of, emotional."

"S'alea is from the time of Surak. The shift to logic and complete control of emotions has not yet happened. From the culture's point of view, she and the other disciples of Surak, although there are many, are considered fanatics. Or as Doctor McCoy would say, oddballs."

Kirk stifled a snicker. The crew, to their credit, barely even cracked a smile. "I see."

Spock turned to his science station and consulted with Mr. Chekov about the power surge. Scotty came up a few seconds later and the 3 of them began talking.

Kirk wathed, a grin on his face, as they adjourned to a science lab. He looked over the PADD Yeoman Barrows had just handed him and signed it. Life as usual...

The comm whistled about 20 minutes later. "Kirk here," Kirk said, poking at the button.

"Capt, we figured it out," Scotty said. "Can ye come to Science Lab 4?"

Spock spoke up. "I believe S'alea should be present as well."

"I'll get her on my way down," Kirk said. "Bridge out."

He left the bridge in Mr. Sulu's capable hands and headed down to Deck 4. He pressed the door chime and 2 seconds later heard a quiet "Come."

The door opened and he stepped inside. S'alea stood up from the floor, where she was staring at a small candle. "Captain Kirk," she said.

"You have a translator," he said, noticing the silver tube at her belt. "Good. Mr. Spock has something to tell us. Shall we?"

"Of course."

She followed him silently, looking completely at ease. The time to rest had done her good.

Kirk watched her out of the corner of his eye, amazed at how serene she looked even in these extreme circumstances. Vulcans, even early ones, were very good at poise.

They arrived at Sci Lab 4 and found Spock, Scotty, Chekov, and a handful of others from the science department looking at scans of the surrounding area. "What've you found?" Kirk asked.

"We have found evidence of a miniature wormhole, generated by the ion storm. We believe it prematurely disipated by the disturbance of the Enterprise, thus causing the transporter to pick up S'alea's signature before she was fully materialized."

Kirk stared at the readings for a few seconds, trying to wrap his head around it. "That's incredible," he finally said, shocked. "Can you tell if it would happen again?"

"The odds are 1 in 971,574,003 that a minature wormhole would appear on an inhabited planet, scoop up a sentient being, and transfer it to the other side. The odds are even higher, near impossible, for the person being transferred to a transporter buffer without incident." Spock's expression was poker-faced as he added, "However, this being the Enterprise, it has happened."

Kirk laughed. "We always get the impossible things, don't we?" he agreed, grateful for this. If they hadn't been here only by sheerest coincidence, S'alea would have died alone, in space, or quietly have her molecules scattered across the quadrant. "So there's no way of reversing the process then," he said, just to make sure.

Spock's eyebrow answered the question, but he answered anyway. "No captain."

"I didn't think so." Kirk turned to S'alea, who had been silent the entire time. "It seems like you're stuck with us, then."

"It would seem so," S'alea said, raising an eyebrow.

The Enterprise spent three more days slowly traversing the ion storm. S'alea spent the three days catching up on the times, talking to various members of the crew about advances in science, engineering, and medicine. She had a stack of PADD's with her literally 24/7.

Spock found her one day, sitting at a computer screen in the Rec Room, reading afile, a strange look in her face. He paused discreetly in front of her.

She looked up at him. "Records of the past are extremely well-kept." She gestured to the screen, inviting Spock to look at it. "My file is accurate. Except the death notice of course," she added wryly.

Spock read the file. S'alea, of the House of Surak— "You are also related to him?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. He is the son of my mother's sister."

Spock reflected on the fact that this woman was his great-great-many-times-great-aunt and read on. She was a computer programmer 1st class, weapons technician 2nd rank, student of logic at the Vulcan Science Academy, third disciple — /third!/ — of Surak. Disappeared 15th day of the third month, presumed assasinated by the Yvek faction. Age at time of death: 92 years.

"A distinguished record," Spock noted.

"More like an obituary," she retorted. "That part of my life is gone." She looked at Spock rather helplessly. "What do I do now?"

"You will be welcome on Vulcan," Spock told her. "All of Vulcan will want to know of your experiences, the first hand accounts. With your credentials you will find a position anywhere you wish. And as you are family, you will have a place to belong." On a lighter note he added, "the House of Surak has over eight thousand members. You will find a spot."

She grinned at him, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. "Eight thousand." She sighed. "I cannot believe it took his death to unite the planet."

"I grieve with thee," Spock said formally, realizing she'd realized that everyone she knew and loved was dead, had been dead for centuries.

She nodded. "Now cousin," she said, standing up, "where on this ship can a being acquire food? I have not eaten for 6,241 years and 91 days."

A snicker came from behind them. It was McCoy, who'd come in and caught her last sentence. "A Vulcan making jokes," he said. "Pigs /must/ have grown wings when I wasn't looking."

"A joke, Doctor?" S'alea said, raising an eyebrow. "I was simply stating a fact."

He rolled his eyes and walked away, muttering. "Heaven help us, they've joined forces..."

S'alea's eyebrow went up higher. "Are all humans as illogical as he is?" she asked Spock.

"Yes. Although Doctor McCoy is of the more extreme variety."

S'alea shook her head. "Fascinating."


	2. Chapter 2

When the Enterprise finally got out of the ion storm, the report they sent to Star Fleet turned Vulcan on its pointy ear. A real-live woman from the past, one of the first of Surak's followers, and a family member. Offers poured in for lectures, papers, interviews, etc, on the origins of 'cthia, arie'mnu, and the most famous man in Vulcan history.

S'alea was slightly shocked by the attention, but she adapted well. She accepted a few offers, a few lectures, and spent long hours over subspace updating her statues on Vulcan and renewing her citizenship, credit account, and so on.

A week away from Vulcan, where the Enterprise was due for computer updates (and dropping off S'alea), they received a communique from Star Fleet.

"A transport convoy has disappeared," Admiral Kali told Kirk. "They were taking a shipment of photon torpedoes to Starbase 219. There've been reports of Orions in the area, and we suspect they might have taken them to sell them to the Klingons."

Kirk frowned. "What's so special about these torpedos, Admiral?"

"These are the first batch of prototype /cloaked/ photon torpedos with intelligent guidance systems." Admiral Kali shook her head. "If the Klingons or the Romulans got their hands on the things, we would be defenceless. Your orders are to find the convoy and secure those torpedos. Blow them up, if necessary."

Kirk nodded. "Understood."

The Admiral wasn't finished though. "You have a weapons specialist onboard, don't you? Use her expertise."

"Admiral, with all due respect, she's a few /thousand/ years out of date," Kirk retorted.

"Captain, she's from the time when Vulcan was at the peak of its warfare potential. She has the skills."

Kirk sighed. "Yes Admiral."

"Good. Safe travels. HQ out." The screen blanked out.

Kirk sat there for a second, rubbing his neck, and then reached out to flick the intercom on. "Bridge."

"Bridge," Spock's voice replied.

"Spock, alert the senior officers to a briefing in 10 minutes, and tell conn to change course for the last known coordinates of the transport convoy A-9K. They're in the communique from 'Fleet."

"Yes sir."

"Oh, and tell S'alea to come to the briefing as well."

He could almost /see/ Spocl's eyebrow going up. "Yes sir," was all his first officer said.

"Good. Kirk out."

He met everyone in the briefing room and told them all about the mission. He ended with, "So this means you'll be delayed getnig back home. Sorry."

S'alea nodded. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one."

"Was that thing, in your time?" McCoy asked. "Like a common saying?"

"No. Only those of us who followed Surak's teachings knew what that implied." S'alea raised an eyebrow. "Is it a 'thing' now?"

"You bet."

"I was not aware this was a gamble."

Spock opened his mouth to explain but Kirk cut him off. "Later, please," he said. He looked at S'alea. "Well in a way it is a gamble, for you," he said. "You're the best weapons expert we have onboard at the moment, and we're going to need your help either dismantling them, or detonating them."

McCoy almost started out of his seat in outrage. "Jim, she's a civilian! You can't ask her to do this! Not to mentionâ€"" he broke off, respecting her privacy in an uncharacterstic manner.

Spock looked like he wanted to say something but he kept quiet and looked at S'alea, as did everyone else.

S'alea was staring at hte table, deep in thought, her immense inner struggle reflected only by a tiny wrinkle on her brow. She finally looked up, her face calm and her eyes resigned, and said, "Thank you, Doctor McCoy, for your concern, but entropy has demanded I return to my past life. I cannot ignore it, no matter how much I would like to." She looked at Kirk. "I will help you however I can."

"Thank you," Kirk said sincerely. He looked around the table. "Right. We'll be at the end of the trail in four hours. Dismissed."

Everyone began to file out, Spock and McCoy hanging back as usual. "Well?" Kirk asked. "What do you think?"

"I say it's the Klingons," McCoy volunteered.

"What do you think Spock?"

Spock shook his head. "There is not enough data to hypothesize."

"So you mean basically wait and see?" Kirk asked.

"Essentially," Spock replied.

Kirk frowned. "Spock, that thing with S'alea."

"She fought to change her entire way of existence, she has been asked to go back to the way things were and possibly take up arms and take lives," Spock said. "We have no right to ask that of her, Jim."

"No," Kirk said, feeling somewhat guilty, "but she accepted." He sighed. "Hopefully it won't come to anything."

"Hello, we're the Enterprise," McCoy said, back to his pessimistic self. "When does it /not/?"

Kirk rolled his eyes.

Four hours later, they came upon the last known coordinates of the A-9K convoy. The ship was on yellow alert, and S'alea was on the bridge, standing by the science station with her hands clasped calmly behind her back.

"What've we got?" Kirk asked, turning to Spock.

He stood up from the scanner. "Signs of disruptor weapons fire, and 8 warp trails leading into Klingon territory. Five Star Fleet signatures, and three K7 battle cruisers."

"Told ya it was Klingons," McCoy said, from Kirk's left.

"Follow the warp trails, Mr. Sulu," Kirk said. "Warp 5."

"Aye captain."

The Enterprise surged forward, following those trails. "They have a six-hour lead on us," Spock reported. "We should reach them in approximately 7.9 hours at this rate."

Kirk acknowledged this with a nod and said, "Lt. Uhura, give Star Fleet an update on our progress please."

"Aye sir."

"Now there's nothing to do but wait," Kirk said.

McCoy sighed. "I hate waiting."

"I know."

"You hate waiting too."

"I know."

"Want dinner and a chess game while we're waiting?" McCoy asked.

"Bones, it was just lunchtime," Kirk said, laughing at him.

"I know. I didn't eat lunch. Now I'm hungry. Are you coming or not?"

Kirk rolled his eyes and followed McCoy into the turbo lift. "And you're the one always telling /me/ not to skip meals..."

S'alea looked at Spock, eyebrows raised. He gave her a reassuring look. "They are always like that," he said.

"I see."

After reviewing the specs of the torpedos with Spock and getting up to date on some of the Klingon defence systems, S'alea returned to her quarters to meditate. She badly needed some peace of mind to be able to face the next day.

7 and a half hours passed without incident until finally, at 0810 the next morning, Spock announced "Reading 8 ship signatures on long-range sensors."

"There's our convoy," Kirk said. "Shields up, red alert. Uhura, hail them. S'alea to the bridge, please."

A chorus of 'aye sir's' followed his request and a second later Uhura said, "They're not responding to our hails."

Suddenly the ship shuddered violently and everyone not seated was thrown to the floor.

Spock helped the newly-arrived S'alea up from the floor, ignoring the brief surge of emotion felt by the contact, and wasn't surprised when she said, "That was one of the new torpedos."

"At least we know they have them," Kirk said. "Damage report?"

"Shields down 20%. Minimal damage to decks 12 and 13."

Kirk frowned. "We can't take more than 5 hits." He looked at S'alea. "Any ideas?"

She was already at the console, typing away, Spock at her elbow. "If we can access the torpedo systems and shut them down or freeze them out we can disarm them."

"They're all live," Kirk warned her. "Klingons are like that."

"I shall take your word for it."

The ship shuddered again and Sulu said, extremely frustrated, "Evasive maneuvers are useless if I don't know what to evade!"

S'alea's eyes lit up. "Evade," she muttered, and her fingers nearly flew across the board. "We don't need to stop them," she said, half to herself, "only make them evade us. A guidance subroutine is easier to put in than a complete shutdown."

Spock nodded and joined her frantic typing on the other console. "Done," they both said, forty seconds later.

"Let's hope it works," Kirk said.

It did. Once the Klingons realized the torpedos refused to hit the Enterprise, they tried old-fashioned disruptors and photon torpedos. /That/ Sulu could evade and Chekov could reciprocate. They chased the Klingons away from the convoy and returned to claim the convoy.

"I think that was the easiest run-in with the Klingons we've had," Kirk remarked, watching the Klingon ships speed away. "Mr. Sulu, set a course for Starbase 219. Let's make sure these things get there."

"Aye captain."

The convoy, after a bit of shuffling around , set off for Starbase 219.

Later that day, Kirk went over to one of the convoy ships to say hello to the captain, and found S'alea looking over the batch of torpedos, a tricorder in one hand and a small sensor in the other. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

"No. I was merely checking the cloak efficiency. These are indeed the pinnacle of destructive force. Their programming is simple, their yield is powerful, and their design is even aesthetically pleasing." She spoke the next words without a hint of emotion. "I hate them."

Kirk's eyebrows went up but he didn't say anything.

"I should not, of course," S'alea said. "Strong emotions speed entropy and damage our psyches, but I cannot help it. They stand for everything I have tried to get rid of. Anger, fear, passion, destuction, but there they are. And I helped save them." She looked at Kirk, her expression weary. "I only hope I will not be there to see them used."

"You won't be," he told her. "That's our job."

She gave him a small smile. "You have never seen a Vulcan become maudlin have you?" she asked.

"No," he told her honestly.

Her smile widened fractionally. "You probably will not believe me when I believe you that Vulcans, when without logic and inner peace to balance them, can get quite melancholy. We are the only people I know to sulk for weeks."

Kirk laughed. "That's because you haven't met a Rigellian. Now there's a species that can hold a grudge..."

Two weeks later, they finally got to Vulcan. Kirk and McCoy went to the transporter room to say goodbye to S'alea. She was going to see T'Pau, head of the House, with Spock for company.

"It was an honor to work with you," Kirk said, giving her a bow and a smile. "I hope we meet again, under more pleasant circumstances."

"And whenever you feel like fighting Klingons again, come back," McCoy added. "Only two greenstick fractures and bruised knee out of 430 people. I still can't believe it."

She gave them a slight bow and raised her hand in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Captain Kirk. Doctor McCoy. And thank you."

Kirk looked at the transporter operator. "Energize."

They stayed at Vulcan for a week getting their computers upgraded, but no one saw S'alea again. Kirk questioned spock on this, the day they were leaving. "Where's S'alea? I thought she was going to be out and about."

"She has postponed her appearances and withdrawn to the desert," Spock replied. "I do not know where she is."

"Whaddya mean, withdrawn to the desert?" McCoy asked. "Like, a hermit club?"

"No doctor, I mean, she has gone into the desert seeking something only she knows. When she has found it, she will return." Spock gave them a reassuring look that only his closest friends would have noticed. "She will cross our paths again, someday. She is that kind of being."

S'alea came to Vulcan expecting who-knows-what, and found /the/ most peacable, private race in the galaxy. The whole world was changed, and they'd taken Surak's word far too seriously. Not a person smiled (/he/ did, you know), or frowned (/he/ did that, too), or /anything/. Not to mention they were arrogant (/he/ never was). And still so scared of the Other. If she'd been human, S'alea wouldn't have known whether to laugh or cry. Being Vulcan, she did neither.

Instead, she took a page out of her cousin's book and walked into the desrt. She went "off the grid" for 10 whole days, sitting in the shadow of Mt. Seleya, looking up at the planet and watching T'Khut, Vulcan's sister planet, watch the skies.

On the 10th day, she realized the sand was shaking. It was supposed to shake. The Vulcans had gotten rid of seismic instability a thousand years. This didn't worry S'alea, however. She stood up calmly, and watched as the sands broke and a giant creature appeared, rearing up to block the vision of T'Khut in the sky.

"Greetings," she told it, wondering if this was what Surak had hinted at, but never truly revealed to anyone else.

It regarded her calmly for a few moments, seeming to judge and accept her all at once, and then, /Live long and prosper/. The thought came through as clear as a bell before the giant creature sank beneath the sands and vanished. It was as if it had never existed in the first place.

S'alea stared at the place it had been. Live long and prosper. She smiled, a secret joyful smile. Surak's work of saving the planet was done. People lived long lives, they prospered as well as they knew how. It was time for her to do the same, following the way of life she knew best. Not quite "Vulcan" as accepted by Vulcans, just, her. She looked up at the stars. "Which one shall I go to first?" she said aloud, and headed for the nearest town. She was hungry, and it was time for dinner.

* * * The End * * *

Thank you for reading! I'd like your opinion on whether to write another adventure with S'alea on the Enterprise; any suggestions welcome :)

Also, the portrayal of early Vulcan and Vulcan life and logic I got from the books Spock's World by Diane Duane and the Star Trek books by Joseph Sherman and Susan Schwartz. They have excellent portrayals of the Vulcan civilization.


End file.
